Fight Fast Fashion: a Social Media Awareness Campaign About Fast Fashion

Fight Fast Fashion: A Social Media Awareness Campaign About Fast Fashion

Rebekah Hutchison University of Wyoming Honors College Senior Thesis

Presented December 13, 2019 At the Honors Thesis RoundTable

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristen Landreville Department of Communication & Journalism

Abstract

As the trillion dollar fast fashion industry continues to grow, it is important that consumers are aware of the detriment it has on people and the planet. Fast fashion exploits human rights and the environment because of its high demand and unmonitored regulations. While Generation Z is spearheading an environmental revolution, the fast fashion industry seems to have been glossed over by these digital natives. In response, a social media awareness campaign, Fight

Fast Fashion, was created to help educate consumers on the impact their purchases have on individual and societal levels. The following paper discusses industry research and the design and implementation of the Instagram campaign. Such components include support raising, storyboarding, and Instagram research. Behavior change is difficult to measure and beyond the purview of this paper. However, Fight Fast Fashion was found to be effective in bringing awareness to consumers, which is the first step in behavior change. Fight Fast Fashion was successful in accomplishing its purpose and has the potential to keep growing in effectiveness. 3

Fight Fast Fashion:

A Social Media Awareness Campaign About Fast Fashion

Background

Fast fashion is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends” (“Fast fashion”, 2019). Fashion has quickly evolved from being released seasonally, two times a year during spring/summer and fall/winter, to new trends being released ultra-rapidly. “Micro-seasons” are being released 52 times a year, meaning people can update their wardrobes every week (Azevedo, 2018). The prices of real estate, cars, and computers - from luxury end items like jewelry to throw away items like pens and paper - have steadily increased over the years. It seems inflation has penetrated every market, with the exception of fashion. In fact, “shoppers pay the same price for a basic Brooks Brothers men’s suit, $598, as they did in 1998” (Wilson, 2008). That was ten years ago, but not much has changed. Part of the reason that clothing has remained so cheap is due to poor human rights regulations in foreign countries.

Human Rights

Consumerism is fueling modern day slavery and fashion is one of the largest contributers to this epidemic. Fashion retailers in developed nations take much of their work offshores and exploit women and children in under-developed nations to produce mass amounts of product for a cheap cost. According to Fashion Revolution (2019), garments are the second at-risk product category for modern slavery. Many workers are forced to work overtime and are not paid for the extra hours. Factory managers request workers stay a minimum of

10-12 hours days, but often they work 16-18 hours (“Working Hours”, 2019). Additionally, while 4 companies may say they allow maternity leave, the reality is that women cannot take leave without fear of losing their jobs (Chavero, n.d.).

Fast fashion contibutes to child labor. World-wide it is estimated nearly 170 million children are child labor victims (Moulds, 2019). Of this number, “48% of victims are ages 5-11”

(“The Child Labor”, 2015). In survey results of top UK retailers, 77% admitted that there is likely modern day slavery somewhere within its supply chains (“The Child Labor”, 2015). Additional field research from the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations revealed that job recruiters in India were convincing parents to send their daughters to work at sweatshops with the promise of good food, shelter, and education. However, the research proved that “in reality, they are working under appalling conditions that amount to modern day slavery and the worst forms of child labour” (Moulds, 2019).

Besides working women and children overtime with no extra pay, working conditions are unsafe. In April 2013, a factory Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed killing over 1,000 people and injuring many more (Thomas, 2018). Many chemicals used in the laundering and dying processes are linked to cancer, asthma, and third-degree burns (“Water Usage”, n.d.).

Americans’ free will to buy as many clothes as often as they want often comes at the cost of another human being’s freedom or life. In addition to human rights, sustainability is an issue to be concerned about with fast fashion.

Sustainability

Beyond the unethical treatment of workers, fast fashion also creates concern for sustainability. According to Fashion Revolution (2019), the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry globally. The same harsh chemicals that burn people also pollute the air and water. Waste water full of these hormone-changing, cleaning solvents are dumped into waterways and alter the pH levels (“Water Usage”, n.d.). It takes millions of gallons of water and 5 harmful synthetic material to produce fashion. It takes anywhere from 500-1,800 gallons of water to grow the cotton, dye the fabric, and launder one pair of jeans (“The Water Footprint”,

2018).

Consumer culture has become so extreme that on average, people dispose of clothing after seven to ten wears (“Woman Ditch Clothes”, 2015). The U.S. alone sends 21 billion pounds of textile waste to landfills each year (McCarthy, 2018). Individually, each person on average will contribute 82 pounds of textile waste (“Environmental Impact”, 2019). The industry produces 1.2 billion tons of CO2 every year (McCarthy, 2018). Fast fashion is unsustainable and working against many who are devoting time, research, and solutions to preservation of the earth.

Purpose

The purpose of my Instagram campaign is to bring awareness and to change fast fashion purchasing behaviors because of the two-fold issue fast fashion is presenting. The two main concerns are fast fashion’s detrimental effect on (1) human rights and (2) environmental sustainability. The goal is to inspire a generation to become educated fashion consumers who understand their actions go beyond themselves. This is a movement to bring social justice and environmental awareness that will lead to less fast fashion purchases. The next section reviews the campaign details, such as target audience, Instagram research, and storyboarding.

Campaign

Title and Instagram Handle

The Instagram handle (account name) is Fight Fast Fashion (referred hereafter as FFF)

@fightfastfashion_

Target Audience

FFF’s target audience is Generation Z social media users. Gen Z, born from 1995 to

2010, is the most digitally wired generation and “first true digital natives” with a strong presence on social media (Williams, 2015). Specifically within Gen Z, the FFF campaign is targeted towards people who engage in fast fashion purchasing. Narrowing my target audience further, I decided that I wanted to reach opinion leaders within the network of the University of Wyoming students who use Instagram and regularly buy fast fashion. The goal is to reduce the number of fast fashion purchases in the 2019 Black Friday and holiday season (e.g., cut purchases in half).

Success was defined by the campaign’s ability to change one’s perspective on fast fashion through the medium of social media.

Color Scheme

After researching the psychology of color branding, I settled on using blue and yellow as the primary colors for the campaign. I added an off-white and black to be used as accent colors, as well as a muted red to be used sparingly in photos. Color codes are as follows: white

FFF608, yellow FFD754, blue 5082C9, red D34E59, and black 000000. See Appendix C for the

FFF color palette.

Blue is known to be the world’s favorite color (Lischer, 2019). Some positive emotions linked to blue are trust, dependability, and logic. In looking at brands that already exist, like

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn, it is clear the titans of social media are onto something. Because my audience is social media based, I wanted to make my page as 7 welcoming as Twitter’s famous blue bird and create loyal followers. Thus, blue was a major color in the campaign.

Yellow, on the other hand, is the world’s least favorite color, however it sends a very clear message (Lischer, 2019). Yellow hues trigger attention and are often used as a warning.

Yellow can be seen positively, but also as a disturbing color. By adding yellow to the FFF color scheme, I hoped to grab attention of Instagram scrollers so they may recognize something is wrong with the fast fashion industry.

Moods that are associated with white are goodness, youthfulness and purity. Moods that are associated with black are strength and authority. Black is seen as a sleek and modern color.

Finally, though I use it sparingly, red is a color that provokes attention, energy, heat and declares a call-to-action. FFF’s color palette is confined to primary colors as a way to communicate a simple, direct, easy-to-understand, and urgent message. Colors can evoke a sense of nostalgia as if the viewer were back in a primary school classroom, and thus prepare the viewer to learn (Gross, 2019).

Logo

I worked closely with friend and graphic designer, Jazim Pados, to develop the FFF logo.

I explained to her what I wanted and showed her a rough design. Pados critiqued my design and prodded me with questions to fully understand my goals. I wanted to have “Fight Fast

Fashion” abbreviated in a condensed form that simple and recognizable. I wanted to include the aforementioned color scheme into the logo so that the brand would be sticky. Pados helped me color code my main three colors: blue, yellow, and white. See Appendix C for the FFF logo before and after.

Storyboarding and Image Creation Process 8

I began by curating several photo galleries from Unsplash, Flickr, and Google Images that were labelled for noncommercial reuse with modification. These photographs all reflected

FFF’s desired aesthetic by color and topic choice. After I collected enough photos to understand the theme, I narrowed my galleries down twenty photographs that worked together to reflect

FFF’s purpose. This process took several days from collecting to consolidating photos. See

Appendix C to view these galleries.

Finally, I booked a study room with a whiteboard at UW’s Coe Library. I used the whiteboard to draw out a 3x12 grid, as it would be on Instagram. With simple sketches, I arranged and rearranged my photos on the grid. Many factors went into consideration when storyboarding the order of my releases. It was important to me that when, at the end of the campaign, a person viewed the FFF page it was cohesive and had the overall appearance of a poster. I considered the order in which the photos would be posted; how they would look next to each other, above and below; what photos that would be a part of a carousel post; how many images to post in a carousel post; and how many posts to make per day so that the FFF page as a whole made sense.

Storyboarding also involved conceptual organization of images into three categories: social justice, sustainability, and consumer behavior. I made four posts per category topic. This process of storyboarding took me three hours until I was satisfied with the layout.

Final Images and Examples

FFF’s page displayed a grid of 12 images in total. Images were a diverse mix of graphics and photography that featured workers, factories, environments, and consumers. All images included captions that educated viewers on the horrors of fast fashion and inspired them to change their behavior. Two example posts from the FFF Instagram page are below. See

Appendix A for Instagram information and analytics. 9

Second post on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 (top); third post on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019 (bottom). 10

Instagram Inspiration

The following social media accounts served as inspiration for the FFF campaign. I looked for nonprofits, organizations, and people that used consistent colors throughout posts. I also looked at these profiles for inspiration on what types of photos have the greatest response.

While I could not see their private account analytics, I could see what posts were most liked and commented on. The following tags listed are those that provided such information. Finally, the

Brave Love account inspired the three-photo banner that is recognizable on the FFF profile page and pictured below.

● @motherlondon

● @carrythelove

● @karenlove2323

● @orphansknowmore

● No Make-up November (on Facebook)

● @bravelove

● @fash_rev

● @thesend

Instagram Research

In the days leading up to the campaign, I researched what the best, most effective times to post on Instagram are. See Appendix A to view the best time(s) of day to post, as well as my actual posting times.

Support Raising

To gain support for the FFF campaign, I reached out to the University of Wyoming’s

Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) that have similar values about social justice and sustainability. I navigated to UWyo’s RSO Club website and scrolled through each club, adding them to an email list if I thought their mission’s somewhat aligned with FFF’s. Additionally, I wrote a short explanation of FFF and sent it to the Honors Program to be released in its weekly digital email. See Appendix B for the support raising emails.

One week before FFF launched, the Instagram page had 115 views and 36 follows within a three day period. This was due largely to my pre-campaign activity on the FFF account.

I made sure to follow similar accounts and hashtags, as well as actively like and engage with pictures that they were posting. I also took the liberty to post on my personal Instagram account so that FFF could have the broadest reach. On my personal account I created posts and stories about FFF that I later highlighted on my profile.The pre-campaign strategy was effective and I would recommend this strategy in the future. The following section includes a debriefing of the campaign, anecdotal stories, and tips for continuance of the campaign.

Evaluation and Assessment

The purpose of the FFF Instagram campaign was to bring awareness and to change fast fashion purchasing behaviors through educating consumers on its individual and societal detriments. Knowing whether or not behavior was actually changed in the target audience is 12 beyond the purview of this paper, as change over time is difficult to measure. However, the first step in behavior change is awareness and the FFF campaign kicked off awareness.

Numerical assessments of the FFF campaign are derived from the analytics provided by

Instagram. The three major analytic criteria are (1) likes and comments, (2) interactions, and (3) discoverability.

1) Likes are the total number of likes on a post. “Likes” occur when a viewer double-taps photos to express their “liking” of that post. Comments are the number of comments on a post.

2) Interactions include profile visits. Profile visits are the amount of users that have visited your Instagram profile.

3) Discoverability includes reach and impressions. Reach is the number of unique accounts that have seen any of your posts. Impressions are the total number of

times that all posts have been seen.

On average FFF accumulated per post:

● 13.4 likes

● 0 comments

● 4.4 profile visits

● 66.7 reach

● 115 impressions

At the end of the campaign FFF had 54 followers. Followership ended when the campaign concluded, but FFF continues to get views each week. See Appendix A for details on the analytics for individual posts. The section below is a documentation of three anecdotal stories about responses to the FFF campaign. 13

Anecdotal Evidence About Behavior and Attitude Change Toward Fast Fashion

Over the course of the campaign, I had several people comment on the ways that it was affecting them that I find pertinent to share. Three days after the FFF campaign launched, I was getting a coffee when the barista told me that she had followed the FFF page because “it was so good” and she was “really liking it”. I am unsure of how the barista knew that I was running it, but I was happy to hear that it was relevant and being positively received.

Mid-campaign, while in one of my father’s stores, an employee of his approached me, letting me know that my father had told them all about the FFF campaign I designed and that she was following it. She proceeded to day, “But really, who’s going to stop buying fast fashion?

Not me!” I was shocked by her straightforwardness and initially upset that the campaign hadn’t changed her behavior. In hearing this response I got, a friend of mine gave me some insight saying, “When someone’s just scrolling through Instagram and looking at pictures of fast fashion, it’s not very real to them. The problem is with a tiny picture they have no connection to.”

This confirms the fact that behavior change is a process and difficult to measure.

On the last day of the FFF campaign, another person approached me saying, “I think I’m going to do a project on fast fashion. I never really knew or cared about it until I’ve seen you do this thing [campaign]. I’m hyper aware about fast fashion to the point when I’m shopping now

I’m like, “Nope, can’t buy that. Nope, shouldn’t buy that.” While all of the comments I received during the campaign were insightful, this was my favorite to hear as it meant that FFF’s purpose was accomplished.

Personal Reflection

Researching, designing, and implementing this campaign taught me how to work well under pressure and in a professional setting with deadlines. I learned both soft and technical skills along the way that will help my in my future career. Technical skills include using Adobe 14

Illustrator and Instagram business and analytics. Soft skills include the ability to effectively support raise and collaborate with designers.

Going forward and understanding the intricacy of social media awareness campaigns, I would have started my research on fast fashion sooner. Additionally, I would recommend prewriting all captions before the beginning the campaign. I began the campaign with prewritten posts, but I didn’t keep up on it. While the posts weren’t hard to type, they were somewhat time consuming and it meant not all posts were able to be released at the recommended release times.

Continued Support and Potential Future of Campaign

The FFF campaign still has potential to be effective if someone chooses to pick it up.

While the original 2019 Black Friday holiday campaign is complete and the page is now static, it could very easily be activated, or posted, on at a later date. There are several University of

Wyoming RSOs that hold similar values to those of FFF, and it could be a great project for a club to rally around. The FFF page is also available to any honors student that is passionate about seeing change in the fashion industry.

FFF could be run similarly to how I ran it, but there is also room for growth if an RSO or individual desires to expand it. Possible ways to expand FFF’s reach are the continuance of posting to Instagram’s feed, making stories, highlighting stories to make miniature docuseries on the FFF profile page, engaging with other fashion, social justice, sustainability, and consumer behavior posts, and support raising.

For any group or individual that is interested in picking up FFF where I’ve left it, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. 15

References

Abu, F. (2019). Generation z & the fast fashion paradox. Refinery29.com. Retrieved from https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/10/8534687/generation-z-fast-fashion-paradox. Azevedo, A. (2018). The impact of the 52 micro-seasons on the environment. Medium.com. Retrieved from

https://medium.com/@andreaazevedo_32670/the-effects-of-the-52-micro-seasons-on-th

e-environment-edd87951b74f.

Chavero, S. (n.d.). The unsustainability of fast fashion. Catala. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83007858.pdf.

“Environmental impact”. (2019). The True Cost. Retrieved from

https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/.

“Fast fashion”. (2019). In Oxford Online Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.lexico.com/definition/fast_fashion. Gross, L. (2019). How to use the power of nostalgia: how you can use it to fuel your creativity

and enrich your design. Canva. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/learn/nostalgia/. Knoskova, L. (2019). The economic impact of consumer purchases in fast fashion stores.

Sciendo. Retrieved from Directory of Open Access Journals database.

Kozlowski, A. (2019). Fashion production is modern slavery: 5 things you can do to help now.

The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/fashion-production-is-modern-slavery-5-things-you-can-do-t

o-help-now-115889.

Lischer, B. (2019). The psychology of color in branding. Ingyte.com. Retrieved from http://www.ignytebrands.com/the-psychology-of-color-in-branding/. 16

McCarthy, A. (2018). Are our clothes doomed for the landfill? Remake. Retrieved from https://remake.world/stories/news/are-our-clothes-doomed-for-the-landfill/.

Moulds, J. (2019). Child labour in the fashion supply chain. Unicef. Retrieved from https://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour/.

“The Child Labor Experiment”. (2015). Fashion Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.fashionrevolution.org/the-child-labour-experiment/.

“The water footprint of the blue jean”. (2018). Fluence News Team. Retrieved from https://www.fluencecorp.com/blue-jeans-water-footprint/.

Thomas, D. (2018). Why won’t we learn from the survivors of the rana plaza disaster? The New York Times Online. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/style/survivors-of-rana-plaza-disaster.html.

“Water usage in the textile industry”. (n.d.). Weebly.com. Retrieved from https://economicsofwater.weebly.com/water-usage-and-the-textile-industry.html.

Williams, A. (2015). Move over, millennials, here comes generation z. The New York Times Online. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/move-over-millennials-here-comes-generat

ion-z.html.

Wilson, E. (2008). Dress for less and less. The New York Times Online. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/fashion/29PRICE.html.

“Woman ditch clothes they’ve worn just seven times”. (2015). Daily Mail Online. Retrieved from

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3117645/Women-ditch-clothes-ve-worn-just-se

ven-times-Items-left-shelf-buyer-feels-ve-weight-ve-bought-whim.html.

“Working hours”. (2019). Labor Behind the Label. Retrieved from https://labourbehindthelabel.org/working-hours/. 17

Appendix A

Instagram Information & Analytics

Bio Fight Fast Fashion Cause 2019 Holiday Campaign Inspiring a generation to fight fast fashion

Friday, Nov. 22 Day 1

Post #1 Recommended release time: 4 pm; actual release time: 4:17 pm Category: Consumer behavior I Image source(s): (1) Unsplash, (2) Unsplash

Caption: The cost of fast fashion is more than you think. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Being an issue of both social injustice and unsustainability there’s no time left for inaction. Fight Fast Fashion is a public awareness campaign designed to educate and encourage a generation to take a stand against the ways fast fashion is hurting people and our planet. Stay tuned to learn more about how you can join a movement towards ethical practices in and around the fashion industry. It’s up to us. . Watch this video by The Economist for a better understanding of the cost of fast fashion. Link in bio! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts Mentions: -- References: --

Analytics 18

Likes: 15 Comments: 0 Profile Visits: 16 Reach: 76 Impressions: 176

Saturday, Nov. 23 Day 2

Post #2 Recommended release time: 11 am; actual release time: 11:05 am Category: Social justice I Image source(s): (1) Unsplash, (2) Unsplash, (3) Flickr

Caption: In a world full of machines it can be hard to remember that all clothes are handmade. @fash_rev launched a campaign challenging consumers to ask the question “Who made my clothes?” Do you know without looking at the tag where your shirt was made? Your jeans? . Your freedom to buy whatever you want, whenever you want it may be costing someone else their freedom. According to the Global Slavery Index, garments are the 2nd highest at-risk product catagory for modern slavery. Let’s challenge and support each other in wearing our values. Stay tuned to learn more about how you can be apart of the solution. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #modernsalvery Links: -- Mentions: @fash_rev References: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/why-fashion-matters-for-international-womens-day/

Analytics Likes: 19 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 4 Reach: 85 19

Impressions: 150

Sunday, Nov. 24 Day 3

Post #3 Recommended release time: 10 am; actual release time: 10:27 am Category: Sustainability I Image source(s): (1) Unsplash, (2) Unsplash

Caption: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, textile waste has increased by 811% since 1960 and is the second largest contributor to pollution after plastics. . Don’t throw your clothes away, rather thrift them, lend them, or swap closets with a friend! Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #nonewclothes #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday Links: -- Mentions: -- References: https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-spe cific-data

Analytics Likes: 20 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 6 Reach: 71 Impressions: 145

Monday, Nov. 25 Day 4

Post #4 Recommended release time: 11 am; actual release time: 1 pm Category: Sustainability II Image source(s): (1) Unsplash

Caption: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports the average American discards over 81 pounds of clothing each year. In the United States, clothing disposal rates are among the highest, with some garments discarded after just seven to ten wears (@planetaid). Livia Firth, co-founder of @ecoage, suggests we ask ourselves, “Will I wear this a minimum of 30 times” before each purchase. Let’s be committed to buying less and making it last this holiday season. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #30wears Links: -- Mentions: @planetaid, @ecoage References: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/01/ready-waste-americas-clothing-crisis/ https://www.planetaid.org/blog/clothing-industry-in-the-crosshairs https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/glamour-30-wears-challenge-fashion-revolution-wee k

Analytics Likes: 15 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 5 Reach: 96 Impressions: 134

Tuesday, Nov. 26 Day 5

Post #5 Recommended release time: 5 am; actual release time: 3 pm Category: Sustainability III Image source(s): (1) Unsplash, (2) Unsplash

Caption: It takes anywhere from 500-1,800 gallons of water to grow the cotton, dye, and launder one pair of jeans (Fluence). In a report by Levi Strauss, American consumers had the highest water intake and use of non-renewable energy. The good news is @levis also found that washing your jeans after every 10 wears, rather than after every 2 wears can reduce energy use, climate change impact, and water intake by up to 80%. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #jeans Links: -- Mentions: @levis References: https://www.fluencecorp.com/blue-jeans-water-footprint/ http://levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Full-LCA-Results-Deck-FINAL.pdf https://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/how-many-gallons-of-water-does-it-take-to-make. html

Analytics Likes: 12 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 6 Reach: 71 Impressions: 119

Post #6 Recommended release time: 11 am; actual release time: 5 pm Category: Consumer behavior II 22

Image source(s): Unsplash

Caption: The fast fashion industry tells us that our response to feeling sad, anxious, depressed, or bored should be to buy clothing. It makes us feel better right? Research from @greenpeace reveals otherwise. “While people seek happiness and self worth by shopping, survey results show that they are deeply ambivalent about their own behavior. Stating guilt and shame, people often feel bad about their own useless purchases and overspending habits. Many people realize that shopping does not lead to increased happiness in the long term. Around 50% report that their shopping excitement wears off within a day - the binge is followed by a hangover.” . Coping is a normal experience that we all take part in as we navigate through life. It’s important to choose healthy boundaries in which we cope so that we can live without cognitive dissonance, as people of integrity. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #coping Links: -- Mentions: @greenpeace References: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/publication/6884/after-the-binge-the-hangover/ https://www.greenpeace.de/sites/www.greenpeace.de/files/publications/2017-05-08-greenpeace -konsum-umfrage-mode.pdf

Analytics Likes: 13 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 2 Reach: 65 Impressions: 101

Wednesday, Nov. 27 Day 6

Post #7 Recommended release time: 5 am; actual release time: 3:10 pm Category: Social justice II Image source(s): Google Image

Caption: “Girls are overworked and live in appalling conditions that can be classified as modern slavery.” According to @sustainyourstyle, 168 million children in the world are forced to work. Because the fashion industry requires low-skilled labour, child labour is particularly common in this industry. “Garment workers are often forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. During peak season, they may work until 2 or 3 am to meet the fashion brand's deadline. Their basic wages are so low that they cannot refuse overtime - aside from the fact that many would be fired if they refused to work overtime. In some cases, overtime is not even paid at all.” To read more about the inhumane working conditions in the fast fashion industry click the link in my bio. . Photo courtesy of Gunner A. Pier Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #garmentdistrict Links: https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-working-conditions Mentions: @sustainyourstyle Photo credit: Gunner A. Pier, retrieved from https://www.wn.de/Fotos/Aktuelles/Aus-aller-Welt/Besuch-in-einer-Textilfabrik-in-Bangladesch References: https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-working-conditions

Analytics Likes: 13 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 4 Reach: 77 Impressions: 116 24

Post #8 Recommended release time: 11 am; actual release time: 3:10 pm Category: Social justice III Image source(s): Google Image

Caption: Photo courtesy of Gunner A. Pier Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #garmentdistrict Links: -- Mentions: -- Photo credit: Gunner A. Pier, retrieved from https://www.wn.de/Fotos/Aktuelles/Aus-aller-Welt/Besuch-in-einer-Textilfabrik-in-Bangladesch References: --

Analytics Likes: 8 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 3 Reach: 53 Impressions: 79

Post #9 Recommended release time: 3 pm; actual release time: 3:10 pm Category: Social justice IV Image source(s): Google Image 25

Analytics Likes: 7 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 1 Reach: 52 Impressions: 77

Thursday, Nov. 28 Day 7

Post #10 Recommended release time: 5 am; actual release time: 9:40 am Category: Sustainability IV Image source(s): (1) Flickr, (2) Flickr, (3): Flickr

Caption: The best clothes you can get are the ones you already own. With Black Friday sales approaching it is important we purchase our values. This means buying when in need and not when we want. It means knowing who made our clothes and that they are being paid a living wage. It means giving our money to companies that are working with us to sustain the planet. The U.S. alone sends about 21 billion pounds of textile waste to landfills every year according to Allison McCarthy of @remakeourworld. Much of what ends up in landfills is from one-time purchases that happen on Black Friday. Let’s change the tide and shop responsibly this weekend. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #landfill #zerowaste Links: -- Mentions: @remakeourworld References: https://remake.world/stories/news/are-our-clothes-doomed-for-the-landfill/

Analytics Likes: 14 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 4 Reach: 47 Impressions: 107

Post #11 Recommended release time: 3 pm; actual release time: 3:45 pm Category: Consumer behavior III 27

Image source(s): (1) Unsplash

Caption: There’s no doubt Fast Fashion is harming people and our planet at a fast rate. But we are people of solution. Here are seven forms of sustainable fashion that as agents of change we can be utilizing: . 1. Use what you have 2. Buying ethical and fair 3. Recycle, repair, and upcycle 4. Rent, loan, and swap 5. Secondhand, thrifted, and vintage 6. Made-to-order, DIY, and custom made 7. High-quality and timeless designs Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #change #generation Links: -- Mentions: -- References: @thesustainablefashionforum

Analytics Likes: 10 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 2 Reach: 57 Impressions: 83

Friday, Nov. 29 (Black Friday) Day 8

Post #12 Recommended release time: 5 am; actual release time: 5 pm Category: Consumer behavior IV Image source(s): (1) Unsplash, (2) Unsplash, (3) Unsplash

Caption: Do you really need one more shirt? Do you really need another pair of shoes? Today think about the consequences of purchasing fast fashion. Buying whatever you want is costing people their lives and hurting our planet. With Black Friday sales full swing and Cyber Monday approaching take a minute to think before you buy. Shoppers are expected to spend 3.4% more on Black Friday than last year (Retail Gazette). But @fash_rev says 80% of all the clothing produced ends up in landfills. Don’t buy clothes because corporate America is telling you to, buy clothes if you need them. Hashtags: #fightfastfashion #nonewtrends #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #takebackblackfriday #bigsale #blackfriday Links: -- Mentions: @fash_rev References: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2019/11/shoppers-expected-to-spend-2-53bn-on-black-frida y-3-4-more-than-2018/

Analytics Likes: 15 Comments: 0 Profile visits: 0 Reach: 50 Impressions: 93

Appendix B

Campaign Support Emails Email #1 Sent: Nov. 12, 2019 To: Sustainable Agriculture and Research Center; Haub School of Environmental & Natural Resources; Visual & Cultural Arts; Leadership & Community Engagement; Students for Change at the University of Wyoming; Fashion & Design Club; University of Wyoming Student Farm; Sustainability Coalition; University of Wyoming ENR Club, Her Campus at the University of Wyoming; Honors Program

Hi!

My name is Rebekah Hutchison and I am a student of the Honors College at the University of Wyoming. For my senior capstone project I have decided to run an Instagram campaign on fast fashion.

Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Fast fashion is an issue of social justice for underpaid workers and unsustainable environmental practices. The goal of my campaign is to awaken fast fashion consumers to these two major problems in hopes they may change their consumption patterns.

My campaign will begin on Nov. 25 and I would appreciate it if you would support my mission by doing the following:

1. Follow my page on Instagram @fightfastfashion_ 2. “Like” my posts that will be released daily beginning Nov. 25 3. Share my posts using one or both of these methods: a. Share my post on your page’s story i. Tap the paper airplane below the post ii. You will have the option to “Add post to your story” iii. Tap “Send to” iv. “Share” to your story b. Download “Photo & Video Downloader for Instagram - Repost IG” through the App Store or Google Play i. Once you have downloaded the app, it will walk you step-by-step through how to download my post (it’s not complicated) ii. After you’ve downloaded my post, share it on your page and tag @fightfastfashion_

Below is an example of the types of Instagram posts that I will be sharing:

If you have any questions about this, you can contact me or my honors thesis chair Dr. Kristen Landreville at [email protected].

Finally, I plan to send out another email as it gets closer to Nov. 25 to notify you that the campaign will or has begun.

Thank you in advance for your support of this campaign!

Best, Rebekah Hutchison

Email #2 Sent: Nov. 21, 2019 To: Group aforementioned

Hi again!

In the first email I sent you, the campaign start date was Nov. 25th. I have moved the campaign up and it is set to begin on Friday, Nov. 22.

Thank you to all of you that have followed @fightfastfashion_ on Instagram. I am very excited to share this campaign with you and all that I have learned about the fashion industry.

Thanks again for your continued support,

Rebekah Hutchison

Email #3 Sent: Nov. 21, 2019 To: Honors Program for weekly newsletter email

Hi!

My name is Bex. For my senior thesis I have arranged a public awareness campaign that highlights social injustice and unsustainability of fast fashion. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Fast fashion is hurting people and our planet and this information must be exposed. The social media campaign will begin Friday, Nov. 22. Please support this movement by following @fightfastfashion_ on Instagram and sharing the page’s content so that the campaign can have the broadest reach.

Thank you, Bex Hutchison 32

Appendix C

Color Palette, Logo & Storyboard Galleries

Original FFF logo (left); final FFF logo (right)

Unsplash mood board: https://unsplash.com/collections/8933732/fff-instagram

Flickr mood board: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185462662@N07/galleries/72157711822719892/